Palace exec says Malacanang has no part in the automated election system

May 12, 2016 6:07 am

By Joann Santiago

MANILA, May 11 (PNA) – – A Palace official on Wednesday denied allegations that the government is cheating on the vice presidential bid of Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

“The allegation is untrue and unfounded. Comelec (Commission on Elections) is fully responsible for overseeing the automated election system and the executive branch has no part in this process,” Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a statement.

Earlier, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who has the least number of votes among the five presidential bets based on unofficial counts, called the government “authoritarian” as it “feels free to manufacture numbers as they are needed.”

This, after Marcos, her running mate, has been bumped off as frontrunner in the vice presidential race by Liberal Party (LP) candidate Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo, with the lead at around 200,000 to date based on the Comelec’s Transparency Server. (PNA)